Traveler stories

Traveler Goes From Priesthood to Patient Care to High-Tech Nursing With a ‘COW’

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By Julie Benn, contributor

Once upon a time there was a
young man studying to become a priest in a 4-year seminary college. A few years
later, he wanted to become a doctor. Today Christopher Freedman is a registered
nurse and as happy as he can be in the career he chose and stuck to.

Freedman, 42, came into
nursing later in life. After finding out that the priesthood was not for him
and that medical school took too many years of study, he settled on nursing and
discovered that this is really what he thought medicine was all about in the
first place.

“Doctors see patients for
five or 10 minutes, but nurses are there for the entire shift—there is time to
build relationships and really care for them.”

Freedman admitted that
nursing didn’t come easy for him. It was like a type of boot camp and he really
had to work at it. He said the average age in his class was 38 years old. “For
instance, one 50-year-old man whose wife died was also a nursing student in my
class.”

Today, he is not only working
as a Telemetry nurse but also getting all kinds of experience as a travel nurse
with leading travel staffing company NursesRx. A good part of that experience
comes from the hands-on, high-tech systems at some of the country’s most
progressive hospitals.

The computerized charting
system used at the hospital at which Freedman is on assignment with in Seattle is called CERNER.
The computers running CERNER are portable and called a Computer On Wheels
(COW). “The COW makes my job 100 percent easier,” Freedman said. “We just roll
it with us from room to room and chart as we go,” explained Chris. He said that
99 percent of the charting is done in CERNER.

“This is the first system I
have used that has one-click charting for medications given,” said Freedman. “A
lot of hospitals struggle with deciphering written and verbal orders.
Computerizing it takes away all of the confusion. We can contact the doctor
and, within an hour or two, a message saying the medication is ready pops up on
the screen.”

Freedman said although it
takes a huge commitment on the medical side to get started, CERNER makes it a
lot less work for the staff in the long run. “There are no questions, no going
through 20 pages of orders or deciphering writing. This accuracy makes it safer
for the patient as well.”

As for accuracy, Freedman himself
strives to be as precise as he can be when he arrives for a new assignment.
“Every time I take a new job, I write down a very detailed list of how to get
to the hospital and what to do once I get there. I put my list on top of my
clipboard and follow it.My first note
was very basic and started with 1, breathe, 2, get chart, 3, ask doctor questions,
and so on.” He said this goes a long way in helping him feel comfortable at his
assignments.

His main advice for travelers
is to get a good recruiter. “The first recruiter that called me sounded like
Marge Simpson’s sister. With a gruff voice she said, ‘Ya wanna work for me?’ I
said, ‘Ah, no thanks.’ ”

Other recruiters called him
but kept getting his specialty wrong and wanting to place him in jobs that
weren’t suited for him. With NursesRx, his recruiter was the first person to
call him and be up front with him about potential jobs. “Honesty makes a big
difference in this business. I don’t have a lot of surprises and if I do have
any problems, she takes care of them right away.”